If the Korean Peninsula for national elections, the North will win.
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Reflections of South Koreans’ Mindset
A little over three months have passed since Lee Myung Bak took power under the cloak of “pragmatism”.
During the tenure of office Lee set forth “no nukes, opening and 3 000 dollars” as his policy towards the north, totally negating the June 15 Joint Declaration and the October 4 declaration and driving the favourably developing inter-Korean relations into those of distrust and confrontation.
Clamouring about the “theory on priority to south Korea-US relations”, he begged his American master for an early conclusion of south Korea-US “Free Trade Agreement" and totally opened the south Korean markets to the American beef fraught with the danger of mad cow disease, thus resorting to a policy of building up ties with the US in the political, economic and military sectors. He also kowtowed to the Japanese king, disregarding the past crimes of Japan under the signboard of “future-oriented relationship”.
Not content with this, he is enforcing such neo-liberalist policies as privatization of public sectors, “flexibility of labour market” and commercialization of education, inflicting misfortunes and sufferings to the south Korean people.
The anger of south Koreans flare up in the form of candlelight demonstrations, with all the signs of an all-people resistance, and this is developing into a campaign to impeach Lee Myung Bak.
History teaches that anyone who turns his back on the people will be doomed to ruin.
Introduced below are some of photos mirroring the public opinions in south Korea.
If the Korean Peninsula for national elections, the North will win.
Nice, I hope the people kick him out of power, but does anyone know if there's another leftist party or union leading the opposition against the president or what do the people plan to do if the get that bastard out? I mean I don't want to sound to naive but it seems to me that a revolutionary situation could arise from this.
[FONT=Arial Black]WAR IS PEACE!
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY!
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH![/FONT]
-INGSOC slogans
All because they hate the US doesn't mean they love the North. North Korea is generally hated in the South.
And when Marx says, 'Hitherto the philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways', what that 'hitherto' means is not a renunciation of theory and that all we need to do is wade in with our fists and there will be no more need for thought. This idea is in fact fascist, and it would be grossly unjust to Marx to impute such views on him.
--Theodor Adorno, 'On Theory and Practice'
There's a history of militancy in south Korea, but revolutionaries there have faced severe repression since the division of the country; from extrajudicial executions to "legal" murder under the anti-communist National Security Act*.
Today there are some "left" groups in existence, and some leftist unions and unionists, but anyone who really challenges the "democratic" capitalist state, or even shows the potential to, will come face to face with its force.
* The NSA makes it illegal to (1) aid, praise, encourage, organize, or join, an "anti-State" group, or to communicate with one (2) possess, sell or distribute one of the 1000+ pieces of literature deemed "enemy expressions" by the "Democratic Ideology Institute" or the "Public Safety Affairs Institute," (3) fail to tell the government about anyone you know to have done any of the above. The punishment for violating the act is prison or death.
Here's an example, from a bourgeois source, of 8 men being hung for trying to rebuild the People's Revolutionary Party.
"Getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It's one thing after another. I've tried to control a chaotic universe. And it's a losing battle. But I can't let go. I've tried, but I can't." - Harvey Pekar
ahh, that sucks but it makes sense that in a nation with militant workers, the government would be so oppressive on that manner.
[FONT=Arial Black]WAR IS PEACE!
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY!
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH![/FONT]
-INGSOC slogans
One of the pictures had a protest sign with a web addy on it.
Here it is:
http://alltogether.or.kr/new/index.jsp
Symbol is a red fist. Seems Marxist, but I can't read Hangul. Any notion what organization this is?
Socialist Alternative is the US section of the Committee for a Workers' International, which is fighting in over 35 countries on 6 continents for Marxism.
Hi China studen,
What do you think of one of the latest protests in South Korean on the 5th of July which came so unexpectedly to the authorities and trade unions? What, more importatntly, do you think is needed for the S. Korean people to meet their interests?
[FONT=Palatino Linotype]International Committee of
the Fourth International[/FONT]
Wrong, if the majority of people do not like the North, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun will not be elected.
of course ppl hate Lee Myung Bak (aka 2MB, "Lee" is a pun on two, then MB for megabytes, like an outdated model of computer) he's the Korean version of Bush. The country's political situation is pretty much identical to the USA, now, dissent is illegal, safety/environment/national-sovereignty is being eroded. Th exception being that South Koreans really take to the streets. Going to Seoul was way better than any protests I've seen stateside. But then again I was too young at the time for Seattle 1999, damnit.
Are you fucking serious? All because most Koreans want a unified Korea and detente with the North does NOT mean the North would win in an election, every Korean I have spoken to (And believe me, there are a lot of Koreans were I live), think the North sucks and that Kim Jong-il is evil scum. Your view is completely disconnected from reality.
And when Marx says, 'Hitherto the philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways', what that 'hitherto' means is not a renunciation of theory and that all we need to do is wade in with our fists and there will be no more need for thought. This idea is in fact fascist, and it would be grossly unjust to Marx to impute such views on him.
--Theodor Adorno, 'On Theory and Practice'
